Chapter 2 Things Worked Out
THINGS WORKED OUT
Rowan rushed the frazzled woman to a chair, checked her over to make sure she didn’t pass out, and moved back to Rob. He’d heard her say she was a diabetic.
“Is she okay?” he asked Rob. At least half the people had moved past his friend.
He knew Rob from the slopes more than from working at the airport.
When Rowan needed a break from the grind of work or family obligations, he flew to his brother West’s mountain retreat for solitude and the snow.
More often than not he ended up partying with people, but he still got on his snowboard.
“She says she needs to get her insulin off the plane or something. I’m sure she’ll be fine. Everyone always makes a bigger deal out of things to get their stuff.”
He looked over at the woman who had a device in her hand. He’d seen it before.
Rob wasn’t normally this dismissive, but the guy was being pulled in all directions minutes ago. “She’s not lying,” he said. “I had a friend who was a diabetic. She’s checking her blood sugar on the device in her hand.”
“She showed me her bracelet,” Rob said. Rob was still watching people exit from the gate, but it’d slowed at this point and he could just keep pointing forward for them.
“Seriously, dude, is there a way to get her bag before the plane leaves the terminal?”
A flight attendant was coming out and that meant the plane would move soon if it hadn’t already.
Rob looked at Rowan who had his eyebrow lifted. His friend knew who West was also. He didn’t want to throw that card out there, but would. “Let me try. Bring her over here so I can find out where it is,” Rob said. “But I can’t promise anything.”
He waved the woman over and she jumped up quickly while Rob stopped the flight attendant and had a few words.
“Where is your bag located?” he asked. “Let them know.”
The flight attendant was giving him the once over. He got that a lot. The Carlisle genes.
But he was positive that Rob might have told the woman who he was. That carried more weight. Or who his brother was. He didn’t care since he was about to do it himself.
“I need my other carry-on. It’s important. If it wasn’t my extra medical supplies, I wouldn’t care, but that is all that is in it. I promise I’m not lying. I can go back and get it.”
“I’m sorry,” the flight attendant said. The woman told the attendant where it was. “Only airport personnel may re-enter. I’ll try to get it. Wait here.”
The woman next to him sank against the wall. He heard buzzing, but she was ignoring it.
“Is your sugar high or low?” he asked.
“What?” she asked.
“The buzzing. A high or low alert? I’ve heard the sound before.”
“It’s dropping,” she said. She pulled a small bag of fruit snacks out of her shoulder bag. He held back the grin over them being Scooby Doo ones. “I’ll be fine. How did you know that?”
“I had a friend in college who was a diabetic. I learned quite a bit about it. Like he was partial to Swedish fish when he was low.”
“One of my favorites,” she said. “But these are easy to carry.”
She’d dumped the entire bag in her mouth and was talking around a mouthful.
He’d seen his friend do that too. Since there were only around nine small pieces in the bag, he thought little of it.
It wasn’t as if she opened a bag of Oreos and was letting them fall into her mouth one at a time.
“You can sit if you need to. I won’t leave this spot.”
“I’m good,” she said. “It’s just beginning to drop. And I’m sorry. I’m Saylor.”
She put her hand out. Small, soft skin in his, her nails minus any polish, her grip firm.
“Rowan,” he said. No reason to give his last name.
They’d moved to the side away from people, but still in Rob’s sight.
The airport was nuts. He’d gotten here early hoping to hell his flight wasn’t canceled, but it looked like it was going to happen.
His flight was delayed, even though he was supposed to be boarding. Now he wondered if it had to do with this emergency landing at his gate. He’d heard the talk while he’d been looking at his phone.
“How did you get him to go look for my bag?”
“I know Rob,” he said. “Hopefully they’ll find it.”
He could try to throw his weight around more. Or his brother’s, though he carried some. Just not as much here as he did in areas of California.
More like having friends in high places with his business. Only in the surf world though.
“I know you got me further than I could on my own. I’m sorry if I made a scene. I’m normally calm under pressure.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” he said. “It’s understandable.”
“Actually, most don’t understand,” she said. “I think diabetes is more common now than it was years ago, but people still don’t get it. I’m sure I overreacted in his eyes, but who knows how long I’ll be stuck here? It will be worse with the holiday added to the storm.”
“That’s my thought. My flight is delayed. I expect it to be canceled. The ice storm is heading this way and we’d be flying right into it. I’d rather just return to my cabin before it hits here.”
“This is crazy,” she said. “The last thing I want to do is sit here, but if I can get a flight out, I’ll try.”
“Where are you heading?”
“Arizona,” she said. “You?”
“North Carolina.” He turned his head when Rob waved to them. “Let’s see if they’ve got your bag.”
“Oh thank God,” she said. She rushed toward the flight attendant.
“Here you go. You lucked out. They were just getting ready to pull the plane from the gate when I ran back quickly and stopped them from disconnecting it.”
“I don’t know how to thank you enough. I mean it,” she said.
“Sorry I didn’t let you get it while you were exiting. People say all sorts of things to not leave their possessions behind,” the flight attendant said. “Once one person is allowed to move, others take advantage.”
“I get it. And I was being pushed out too. You’re really a lifesaver.”
“You have a wonderful holiday,” the flight attendant said and moved on.
Saylor let out a gush of air. He smelled the faint scent of sugar from her candy hit and it made him smile.
“Looks like things worked out,” he said.
“Now I have to see what the heck is even going on. Standing in line to ask questions when there are no answers doesn’t sound fun.”
“Everyone is in the same boat,” he said. “I’m sitting here waiting for them to decide on my flight. If there is no answer in the next two hours, I’m out of here. No reason to wait if the weather is going to turn.”
“Thank you again,” she said, putting her hand out for his once more. “At least I know if I’m stuck here for a few days, I’ll be fine. I might be sleeping here.”
“There is a hotel attached to the airport, but my guess is, it’s probably filled at this point.”
“Hard to say,” she said.
He felt bad for her.
Cute woman.
Her long brown hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail. She wore jeans and sneakers, topped with a light fleece jacket, fine for a flight to Arizona, but hardly enough if she ended up stuck here. Going outside like that wouldn’t be nearly as fun.
Maybe she had more luggage, but the chances of getting that today were probably slim.
Couldn’t be his problem though.
He had bigger worries.
Like his mother if he didn’t make it home for the one holiday a year that everyone had to be at.